Police: Fatal stabbing appears accidental

Spokane police say a weekend stabbing death of a knife-wielding man in a downtown apartment building appears to be accidental. Police have not yet identified the man, who died around 8 p.m. Saturday at the Danmor Apartments, 410 W. Third. Police spokeswoman Jennifer DeRuwe said identification wouldn’t be made until after an autopsy today. Based on witness statements, a tenant inside the apartments locked himself into one of the rooms after a noisy altercation. Witnesses said the armed man banged on the locked door and remained there, waiting for the occupant to come out. “At some point the door was opened and it swung out, striking the man with the knife,” DeRuwe said. The door impact apparently caused the knife blade to cut the shoulder artery of the man with the knife, said DeRuwe. The man began bleeding profusely as he attempted to leave the building. He later collapsed on the sidewalk, according to witnesses. DeRuwe said the circumstances of the death were complex and took investigators longer than usual to collect.